Real, and more importantly observable. Observable is important because until this week when one talked about quantum mechanics they were either spouting a lot of unproven theory about things way too tiny to be measured or they were Lt. Cmdr. Geordi LaForge on the engineering deck of the Enterprise D.

No longer!

A team of scientists has succeeded in putting an object large enough to be visible to the naked eye into a mixed quantum state of moving and not moving. - Nature

Bwah? It reads like science fiction, to me, but apparently science guy Andrew Cleland and his team, at the University of California, Santa Barbara, were able to cool a tiny 30-micrometer metal paddle to the point where it reached a quantum mechanical ground state. Or, as my limited understand calls it, the place where nature starts to get all freaky deaky.

After the cooling process was complete, Cleland and company were able to "simultaneously set the paddle moving while leaving it standing still." Again: The metal paddle was both vibrating and not vibrating at the same time, and in a way that was observable by the naked eye.

Are you freaking out yet? Because I know a few cats in dark boxes that are right now. [Nature via Kottke]

robooneus

(Starman) 258, Brigadier-General of the FireWire Battalion

(Starman) 258, Brigadier-General of the FireWire Battalion

(Starman) 258, Brigadier-General of the FireWire Battalion

SinaHamedian

QuagNarr

king_saberhawk

SinaHamedian

Tyler Ross

This is because, like it has done in the past with its laptops and other hardware, Apple is offering discounted iPad 10-packs for educators. The packs are available in these configurations:

BF822LL/A: iPad Wi-Fi (16GB) $4,790
BF825LL/A: iPad Wi-Fi (16GB) with AppleCare Protection Plan for iPad - Auto Enroll $5,580
BF823LL/A: iPad Wi-Fi (32GB) $5,790
BF826LL/A: iPad Wi-Fi (32GB) with AppleCare Protection Plan for iPad - Auto Enroll $6,580
BF824LL/A: iPad Wi-Fi (64GB) $6,790
BF827LL/A: iPad Wi-Fi (64GB) with AppleCare Protection Plan for iPad - Auto Enroll $7,580

MacRumors reports that there are no discounts for individual iPad orders, so, um, be sure to have a class/organization size of at least 10. [MacRumors]

chocorate

Cheetoh

Much like the bomb-sniffing and disarming robots deployed in Iraq today, Firegard goes where humans can't, or shouldn't go. Like precarious, burning and unstable structures.

Using its unique "wheels" and segmented body, the Fireguard can navigate uneven terrain with ease, hypothetically. A camera at the head records imagery and video, which can be used by firefighters in a command center to assess the situation and act accordingly.

Again, just a concept for now, but I can easily see such a device scaring the bejesus out of rescue victims in some burning building from the future. [Kh-Berlin via Design Blog]

atomicscissors

yoavraccah

I hope it is, because WePad makes it sound as if Neofonie took a "find and replace" filter to a certain other soon-to-be-released tablet and called it a day. Unfortunate, as this tablet could potentially carve itself a niche identity as a capable, large-screened Android device.

Now, it's just a render we see here, but the render runs Android, with access to the Android Market. Beyond that there's the aforementioned near-laptop-sized display (1366 x 768, fyi), 1.66Ghz Atom N450 processor, and a GMA 3150 graphics card. Also, webcam! Which is not present in a certain looming, ballyhooed, and currently available for preorder pads from places like Cupertino.

There's also a shopping list of other hardware features that this pad isn't going without at launch. Features like USB ports, UMTS modem, widgets up the wazoo (see pic) and a slightly less-than-impressive 6-hour battery life. [WePad via Engadget]

yoavraccah

Jake712